We'll take things slow during the City Cup, which opens with four series featuring the highest-ranked teams today. All matches are at Samsung Arena in Whitewater. First up...
4) Queens Flames v. 13) Pronger Tridents. These teams have drawn the green cue for their first-round series. Queens' Mario had to wait for Pronger's Spot to scratch late in 7-ball before striking for a three-ball run-out. Queens' series lead is at 1-0. The Flames' Violetta dominated in 8-ball, attacking at will with a four-ball run that left the Tridents' Precious facing a big deficit. Violetta made a three-ball run-out to finish it off, extending the Flames' series lead to 2-0. Mario and Spot squared off again in 9-ball, and Spot had some struggles with finishing. This allowed Mario to clean up a few shots, pushing Queens ahead 3-0 in the series. Spot looked his best in 10-ball, but he again came up empty despite an early five-ball run. Spot's miss on the 9 allowed the Flames' Briana to sink the final pair of shots for more of a stolen win to push her team to a 4-0 series lead. Pronger's Potter struck first in 12-ball, but he had no chance to answer for a four-ball run-out by Queens' Violetta, which secured the series for her team at 5-0. Violetta kept the Flames perfect in 13-ball, grinding out another win over Potter, who got himself into positional trouble. The series lead stands at 6-0. Briana returned for Queens in Rotation, and she didn't see the lead until the final ball as Pronger's Precious twice missed on the 15. Briana took an 8-7 win to stretch Queens' lead to 7-0 in the series. In 15-ball, Precious again saw a majority of the offense, but the Tridents' captain saw her four-ball run end with a miss on the 15 despite a good positioning play. Briana tapped it down, grabbing another win to push the Flames to an 8-0 series lead. Mario held things down once more in Accuracy, escaping with a 1-2 win over Potter as Queens completed a 9-0 series sweep to start the City Cup.
3) Web City Spiders v. 14) Eastside Sharks. The second series today uses the red cue. Web City's Nibbles had to scrap for possession early in 7-ball, but he turned around with a five-ball run-out to fend off Eastside's Maison. Web City leads the series 1-0. The Spiders' Kodiak stumbled a bit in 8-ball, unable to keep the pace with the Sharks' Taylor M. At the end, Taylor M. slowed down but still had time to sink the 8 to the top left for the win, tying the series at 1. In 9-ball, Eastside's Lily made a five-ball run that included a jump and a kick before she missed on the 8. Nibbles deflected off the 8 to get the 9 at the top left, restoring a 2-1 series lead for Web City. Nibbles got a little too fancy in trying to finish off 10-ball, leaving the 10 short at the top left. The Sharks' Maison capitalized with a tap-in to steal the win and retie the series at 2. Taylor M. pushed Eastside to the lead in an intense 12-ball battle with Jack. Both players left chances on the table, but Taylor M. kicked in the winning shot on the 9 at the top right to put her team up 3-2. Taylor M. put in a good comeback effort in 13-ball, but the Sharks' captain came up a little short this time as the Spiders' Jack rallied for a three-ball run-out and the win. The series is tied again at 3 games each. Lily led for much of Rotation, but she couldn't find a finishing shot when she needed it. Jack stormed back for Web City, taking the 8-7 win on a three-ball run-out to regain a series lead at 4-3 over Eastside. The Spiders' Kodiak served as the hero in 15-ball, burying the 15 on his second chance after a competitive and close battle with Lily. This sealed the series for the Spiders at 5-3. With the game tied late in Accuracy, Web City's Kodiak sportingly allowed Maison to grab the 1-2 win. Web City took the series 5-4 over Eastside to reach the quarterfinals.
2) Westside Rockers v. 15) Terrace City Knights. A North Division rivalry is reignited in the City Cup, using the silver cue. Terrace City's Anna struck fast in 7-ball, making a 2-7 combination to the top left for the win and 1-0 series lead over Westside's Goatee. The Knights' Oreo did well in 8-ball, keeping the lead over the Rockers' Chimpy. Oreo finished with a kick of the 8 to the bottom left to put her team ahead 2-0 in the series. Westside's Snowball was baffled that the 8 stayed up at the bottom left late in 9-ball. Terrace City's Anna capitalized on it with the final pair of shots for the win, extending the series lead to 3-0. Snowball finally got the Rockers on the board in 10-ball, battling evenly with the Knights' Oreo at first. Snowball then surged late on a four-ball run-out for the win, trimming the Knights' series lead to 3-1. Goatee tried to keep things going in the right direction for Westside, but she couldn't finish off 12-ball. Terrace City's Kiwi had a nice surge in the middle and was faster to make her last ball to push her team's lead to 4-1. Kiwi had a productive 13-ball game at the start, but she couldn't seal the series for the Knights, as the Rockers' Goatee made a three-ball run for the win. The Knights' lead stands at 4-2. Snowball fell behind early in Rotation and never gave Westside a chance to catch up as Anna capped an 8-5 win to seal the series at 5-2 for Terrace City. Chimpy grew frustrated while playing out 15-ball. He found a late three-ball run, then missed contact on the 15 that allowed Oreo to bury it on a free play, pushing the Knights' series lead to 6-2. Chimpy got one back in Accuracy, grabbing a 1-2 win as Kiwi faltered a bit. Terrace City won the series 6-3 to make the quarterfinals.
1) Capital City Sharpshooters v. 16) Victoria Spurs. The regular-season champions and the last City Cup winners clash in today's last series with the blue cue. Capital City's Ellie got stunned in 7-ball, as errors and misses on her side allowed Victoria's Strawberry to dominate in a win. Victoria holds a 1-0 series lead. The Spurs' Rosalina pushed in 8-ball and was first on the 8, but she missed it. The Sharpshooters' Missy struck back on a three-ball run-out for the win, tying the series at 1. In 9-ball, Ellie scratched on the break and Strawberry immediately converted a 1-9 combination from ball-in-hand to restore Victoria's series lead at 2-1. The Sharpshooters' Ellie came up short again in a fast-paced 10-ball battle. The Spurs' Yekaterina was able to make the final pair after an earlier three-ball run to earn the win and 3-1 series lead. Victoria's Rosalina appeared to be in trouble after a scratch, but Capital City's Kelsea failed to position her last ball right. Rosalina made a pair at the end to earn the win, pushing Victoria to the brink of advancing with a 4-1 series lead. Rosalina made a three-ball run early in 13-ball, but the Spurs star faltered later. Kelsea charged with a six-ball run that ended in a scratch, but her positioning worked better this time as she grabbed the win to cut the deficit to 4-2. Missy put in a good fight for Capital City in Rotation, but she wasn't able to stop Victoria's Yekaterina on a late three-ball run-out for the 8-5 win and 5-2 clincher for the series. Kelsea made a ball on the break in 15-ball, but her next shot was a miss. Strawberry remained opportunistic, striking a 1-15 combination deflected to the top left for the win and 6-2 series lead for the Spurs. Missy salvaged one more result in Accuracy, taking a 2-4 win over Yekaterina. Victoria won the series 6-3, an upset to reach the quarterfinals.
We'll continue tomorrow with the closer-ranked matchups in the first round.
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